THE attempt by Saudi Arabia and its allies in the region to isolate and undermine the Emirate of Qatar, seems to be failing. The American military establishment, despite President Donald Trump's repeated tweets supporting the Saudi position, seems to have decided against regime change in the Emirate. The evidence of this is the signing of a $12 billion deal by the Americans to sell 36 F-15 fighter jets to Qatar. Even within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Oman and Kuwait are not supporting the Saudi move for regime change in Qatar.

ONE of the biggest gambles by any sitting prime minister in the history of British politics has spectacularly backfired on the cautious Prime Minster Theresa May.When May called a snap general election, she required a change of legislation to repeal the fixed time parliament that had three years to run.The main opposition parties of Labour and the Scottish National Party were confronted with Hobson’s choice to either endorse the call for an early election or be highlighted as running scared of the will of the people.Theresa May influenced by opinion polls that were placing the Conservative

IT will rank among the most calamitous of political blunders. The decision of British Prime Minister Theresa May to call a snap election to buttress her ‘hard’ bargaining stance in upcoming Brexit talks has blown up in her face, with consequences that continue to reverberate across the entire British state.The crisis, full-blown and multi-dimensional, reaches beyond matters of government survival, dubious backroom deals and unprecedented disruptions of longstanding constitutional procedures.

MORE than 1500 Palestinian political prisoners incarcerated for years in high security Israeli jails have been on an indefinite hunger strike from April 17. The date is observed every year as “Prisoners Day” by Palestinians in the occupied territories and Israel. More than 6500 Palestinian prisoners, including an estimated 300 children, are languishing in Israeli jails, living under bleak conditions. The Israeli government has passed a law which allows for the arrest of children aged 12 and above for “terrorist offenses”.

THE whirlwind campaign launched by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to further enhance his already wide ranging powers in April has narrowly succeeded. Turkey's Election Commission officially confirmed the win for the “yes” camp in the referendum on the new constitution. The Election Commission stated that 51.41 per cent of the electorate voted in favour of the amendments backed by the Turkish president and the ruling AK Party.